2013 Year in Review

Today, we’re taking a look back at the people, moments and places that mattered most on Facebook in 2013.

Conversations happening all over Facebook offer a unique snapshot of the world, and this year was no different. Every day, people post about the topics and milestones that are important to them – everything from announcing an engagement, to discussing breaking news, or even celebrating a favorite athlete or sports team.

We analyzed the past year’s worth of these posts to reveal the top global trends of 2013:

Top Life Events
Check out the life events people added to their Timeline most frequently in 2013.

1. Added a relationship, got engaged or got married
2. Traveled
3. Moved
4. Ended a relationship
5. First met a friend
6. Added a family member, expecting a baby or had a baby
7. Got a pet
8. Lost a loved one
9. Got a piercing
10. Quit a habit
Top Check-Ins Around The World
Explore the places around the world with the most check-ins (excluding transportation hubs).

While some of the people or topics featured on this year’s global list need no introduction, like Pope Francis, others prompted us to dig a little deeper. “Election” appeared in many languages, and was the second most mentioned term on Facebook worldwide in 2013. With high-profile national elections in countries like India, Kenya, Iran and Italy year, it’s not a surprise to see it near the top of our list.

We also took the pulse of regional conversations in 16 different countries to give people a look at the most talked about topics near them.

Methodology
Top life events and check-ins: We looked at which life events and places generated the most posts and check-ins in 2013, and then used the data to create global and country-level rankings.
Most talked about topics: We measured how many Facebook posts in 2013 mentioned a specific topic and then ranked those topics based on the overall number of mentions to create each list. Mentions include both the term itself and related hashtags. For example, both “Here at the #inauguration” and “Proud to be at the presidential inauguration” would be calculated as part of the buzz related to a single event.

Your Year in Review
People can also look back that their own biggest moments of the year, including life events and popular posts you’ve shared. This personalized look back also includes the option to see highlights and popular posts by friends. See your year in review at Facebook.com/YearInReview.

The U.S. Year in Review
In addition to our global data, we’ve also curated lists about activity on Facebook specific to the U.S.